Hi, I have just bought the aforementioned item and also 2 WPC54G Wireless G Notebook adapter cards for mine and my wifes laptops. I have set it up and it works great, I connect no probs. However I have not changed anything on the security side apart from my log in to the Linksys admin page. Can anyone give me an idiots guide as to what buttons to press etc what things to change so that I can feel safe that no one can log onto my account and gain free access. Can anyone also tell me how to do it so that mine and my wifes laptop will log on automatically but anyone else trying to blag a ride will have to enter a password/phrase etc. Many thanks in advance.

4. Use minimal WEP encryption to make it harder to join your network but still keep good transfer speeds (128-bit encryption will lower your transfer speed with up to 40% and can lower the range of your wireless network).

OR

5. Use strongest WPA encryption to protect your data.

CONSEQUENCES:
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From the above, point 1 is crucial and should be done immediately.

Point 2 is good practice but if you implement it, you will have to type in the SSID manually to each computer you want to connect; you cannot just scan for available access points.

Point 3 is crucial if you don't want your neighbour or even worse a spammer to use your network for possibly illegal activity. If you implement point 3, you will have to tell the WAG54G which computers are allowed. This includes finding out the device's 10 digit MAC number and manually entering it in the router.

Point 4 is additional protection from unauthorised access to your network. Don't count on WEP to protect your data as it has been shown to be breakable in as little as 3 minutes.

Point 5 is your best alternative to protect your data from being snooped on. Companies that use WLAN implement at least WPA so that their sensitive information does not leak out.

Using either 4 or 5 includes creating a network key and entering it in each computer that wants to access the WLAN.

I would recommend points 1 and 3. If you don't mind typing in a SSID in each computer you want to connect to the network, I would recommend point 2 as well.

Let me know if you still need direct instructions on how to implement points 1-5 above with the Linksys WAG54G.

David

PS

Answer to your question: If you use WEP, you will have to type in a password once on your and your wife's laptops, from then on you can use the network. Any guests will have to type in the password as well. Unfortunately the "password" is a sequence of 10-20 hexadecimal characters and often messy to get it right and not easy to tell friends that are visiting.

WPA has clear text passwords but its a newer standard and not always supported. Not supported at all for B devices.